Accursed Emotions
by Neo Dragon X
Summary: Mercury had always believed emotions were pointless. After all, he is a cold-blooded assassin. Nothing mattered to him but the payment. After his sparring session against Pyrrha Nikos, however, he begins experiencing one of these accursed emotions; love. Mercury begins questioning Cinder's cause with his newfound feelings for Pyrrha. Are his feelings genuine?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Is This Truly Worth It?

Mercury Black had always been a peculiar sort of fellow.

Abandoned by his mother and raised by an overbearing, abusive assassin father, the silver-haired man had always believed in one quality; strength.

He hasn't survived this far by being weak. His father had always been somewhat of a prick, frequently blowing what money he made from his assassination jobs on alcohol and coming back to their hideout in the mountains raging drunk.

Marcus Black believed sternly that only the strong survive, and was determined to pass this belief onto his son. If Mercury even showed a hint of weakness, he was mercilessly beaten by his father, who was often in one of his drunken rages. The first few beatings Mercury had taken in stride, hoping that his father would change for the better.

Alas, that was not to be.

The fateful night Marcus had stormed back after a failed assassination attempt on one of Vale's high-ranking officials, Mercury had just finished a ferocious training regimen, hoping to make his father proud of him. When he had proudly shown Marcus the results of his training, his father had not reacted the way Mercury thought he would.

When Marcus attacked him, however, Mercury responded with all the pain and anger he had held in the past couple years. Even to this day, Mercury could still remember the snap of his father's bones and his bellows of pain as he effortlessly broke his legs with a powerful kick.

Nevertheless, when Cinder Fall and her associate Emerald arrived to recruit his father for their cause, they were greeted with a nasty surprise. To his shock, they then turned and invited him to join them, promising riches and fame for his efforts. Just by Cinder's looks Mercury would have already been convinced. With the extra promises it wasn't even a choice anymore.

And so he joined the army of Salem.

Currently, he was a "exchange student" at Beacon Academy, one of the most prestigious academies in all of Remnant. He and Emerald had been tasked by Cinder to infiltrate the academy and report their findings back to her, especially when the Vytal Festival came around.

Beacon wasn't a bad place though, Mercury had to admit. Besides the excellent food, the academy also had wide, spacious rooms and great sparring sessions with the attractive Glynda Goodwitch. Mercury had to admit though, most of these students didn't present a challenge, despite being "elite" among the hunter/huntress community.

He and Emerald were currently in one of these sparring sessions, having just watched a red-haired girl named Pyrrha Nikos effortlessly dispatch an entire team (namely those hog-headed buffoons, CRDL).

"I have to admit, at least some students in this 'prestigious academy' are worthy of their reputations." Mercury said to Emerald, who merely nodded. "Not very talkative today, are you?" He teased. She threw a glare back at him in response. He raised his hands in defense. "Eesh, no need to be angry." He said.

"Congrats, Mrs. Nikos. You truly deserve your title. Take notes class! It's not every day you get to see such skill and power." Mrs. Goodwitch told the class. Pyrrha nodded in response. "Now, we have time for one more spar before our class ends. Any volunteers?" She called, looking around the classroom.

Mercury looked around, seeing that no one had raised their hands, not even Team RWBY, one of the few teams at the academy that had shown potential in his eyes. "Surprising…" He thought, but slowly raised his own hand. He needed to find out what this girl was capable of. Cinder Fall could be in use of such information.

"Yes, Mercury Black, was it?" Mrs. Goodwitch said, turning to him. "Yes, Mrs. Goodwitch. I would like to volunteer for our last session." He said. She nodded in response, looking down at her clipboard before scratching in a few words. "Who would you like to spar, Mr. Black?" She asked.

"I'd like to fight the 'Invincible Girl' and see how she stands up to her reputation." Mercury said, standing up and pointing at the surprised Pyrrha. "Mr. Black, Mrs. Nikos has recently fought an entire team! You can't expect her to…" Goodwitch was silenced when Pyrrha stepped up. "I accept his challenge, Mrs. Goodwitch." She said, looking up at Mercury, who grinned cockily in response.

"Alright then, come down Mr. Black. We have around ten minutes' left." Goodwitch spoke. Mercury slowly rotated his neck before tensing his legs and leaping down. With an echoing boom, he landed in the middle of the sparring hall before taking a fighting stance. Pyrrha raised her lance and shield, narrowing her emerald eyes.

"You may begin." Goodwitch spoke. Mercury lunged forward, lashing out at Pyrrha with a barrage of powerful kicks. Pyrrha blocked them with her shield, bracing her legs against the ground to steady herself. She countered with a downward swipe with her lance, aiming for Mercury's legs.

The silver-haired man jumped above the swing, his heels clicking as Dust bullets locked into position. He then leaped backwards, kicking into the air as he twirled on his heels. Pyrrha charged him, her lance extended to impale him.

Mercury countered the attack with a low sweep, causing Pyrrha to stumble before aiming a roundhouse at her head. She reached out with a glowing hand, Mercury's boot _moving_ upwards by itself, narrowly missing Pyrrha. Mercury's eyes widened as he struggled to right himself, before Pyrrha barreled into his chest with her shield extended.

Mercury grunted as he was sent flying backwards, digging his legs into the ground and stopping himself. " _How is she so powerful?_ " Mercury thought as he steadied himself as Pyrrha advanced on him, shield raised.

Mercury merely pointed a finger upwards. Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, but looked upwards in shock to see a massive cloud of gray Dust bullets floating above her. "What the…?!" She whispered before the bullets came crashing down on her, covering the arena in smoke.

Team RWBY and the other members of JNPR watched in anxiety, hoping that Pyrrha wasn't hurt by the sudden impact. To their great relief, she shot out of the smoke, having blocked most of the damage with Akouo. She slowly lowered her shield to look a shocked Mercury straight in the eye, before charging at him once more, determined to finish the fight.

"I forfeit!" Mercury said, causing Pyrrha to gasp and narrowly barrel past him. "Pyrrha Nikos is the winner of this bout. May I suggest next time to choose another to spar against, Mr. Black." Goodwitch said.

Mercury shrugged in response, before turning to stalk off the arena, hands in his pocket. "The class is over! I hope you enjoy your weekend!" Goodwitch called out, the entirety of the class shouting in elation before running toward the entrance. Casting a quick glance behind him, Mercury could see that RWBY and the other members of JNPR had surrounded Pyrrha, congratulating her.

The silver-haired man was joined by Emerald near the entrance, but could not focus on her or the questions she was asking. His thoughts were with the red-haired, emerald-eyed girl he had just fought. He had to admit, Pyrrha Nikos was beautiful. The way she carried herself, her figure, the way she fought, she was a rarity.

Normally fights against him lasted a couple of minutes at most, with his ferocious speed and attacks overwhelming the unprepared opponent. Pyrrha was one of the only ones who actually represented a challenge to him, although he wasn't using his full strength.

"The name Nikos is somewhat familiar… Do I know her?" Mercury wondered as he and an annoyed Emerald left the sparring hall.

Cinder Fall would have to be alerted of this potential obstacle.

 **Hey guys! I fell in love with the RWBY series after watching a few episodes, and suddenly my creative spark came back (at least for this story). Mercury Black is a very interesting character, and I wish they explored him more. I can't wait for Volume 4 to come out, but this story is my tribute to the brilliance of the late Monty Oum! I actually think the "falling for the enemy" idea works with Mercury and Pyrrha… so I will try my best, although Mercury will be a little OOC, but love does that to you I guess!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	2. Introductions

Chapter 2: Introductions

If there was one thing Mercury loved about Beacon Academy, it was the food.

As one of the most prestigious training academies in all of Remnant, its cafeterias were stocked with the finest and freshest produce from nearby farms. Students never went to class hungry, stuffed full of high-quality food.

Lunch period, besides the end of each class, was the period most looked forward to by students for this reason.

After the sparring class with Goodwitch, Cinder and her posse had headed to the cafeteria to both refill themselves as well as to discuss their plans. While she and Emerald had gone off to socialize with the other females, after getting their food of course, Mercury was left to his own devices.

After filling his tray with steak, pasta, and a glass of cola, he went off to find a seat amongst the jam-packed cafeteria. Students were shouting, throwing food at one another, and generally having a good time. "Of course they abandon me… going off to talk with those other girls, typical of Cinder." Mercury grumbled under his breath, his heels clicking on the marble tiles.

As he walked past the second row of tables, he heard a splatter followed by a loud yell. Looking around in shock, he saw teams RWBY and JNPR at a table, the orange-haired girl, Nora Valkyrie, was it, having just thrown a cream pie into the white-haired girl, Weiss's face. Pie crumbs and whipped cream were currently dripping off her face as she stared in shock.

"Whoops! Sorry!" Nora shouted, before Weiss clenched her fists and tried to lunge at her, but Ruby and Yang held her back. "Well then…" Mercury said before shaking his head. These were future Hunters and Huntresses! Were they really supposed to behave like this? The silver-haired young man was about to leave and find another seat before Pyrrha noticed him.

"Hello! Mercury, was it? It seems like you're lost. Why don't you come and sit with us? We have plenty of room here!" The crimson-haired beauty shouted, waving at him with a slender arm. Mercury felt his face flush up as soon as he heard her speak. Pyrrha Nikos had a pleasant voice, he had to admit.

"I'm fine, I'll just…" He tried to say, but Pyrrha shook her head. "Come on! I insist!" She cried. Mercury sighed before striding over. "Thanks!" He said, plopping himself right beside the blond-haired dunce and Pyrrha, who gave him a kind smile.

"Welcome to Beacon, Mercury. I have to admit, your strength and technique is admirable. You're one of the few I know who could actually hold their own against me!" Pyrrha said. Mercury waved a hand absentmindedly. "You're pretty damn strong yourself, you know. I would have lost if the fight had continued." _"A blatant lie…._ " He thought.

"Well, I forgot to introduce you to the rest of my team. This is Jaune (the blond-haired boy waved), this is Nora, and this is Ren." She finished, pointing to a black-haired boy with a pink streak in his hair, who gave Mercury a simple nod in acknowledgement. Mercury raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"And this is team RWBY! This is Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long." Pyrrha continued, pointing to the four girls sitting on the opposite side of the table. Ruby waved happily at Mercury, while Weiss simply scoffed and went back to examining her nails. Blake gave Mercury a quick glance before returning back to her book, and Yang gave him a wide grin in response.

"Glad to meet you all. Now, I've got to ask a question. How did you deflect my kick during our sparring session?" He asked, genuinely curious as to how she managed to move his foot mid-execution (and for Cinder to use, of course). Pyrrha raised an eyebrow in response. For such a skilled student, Mercury lacked some basic knowledge about Hunters and Huntresses in general.

"It's my Semblance, of course. I have the ability to manipulate and move metal objects, the power of polarity. I could see that your boots were made out of some sort of metal, so of course I took advantage of that." She said as she raised a teacup to her lips. Mercury nodded in response. So her Semblance was polarity, interesting…

"What's your Semblance, Mercury?" Pyrrha asked, putting her teacup down and smiling at him. Mercury felt his cheeks heat up in response. He couldn't get the nagging feeling out of his mind that he knew her from somewhere… He shook it off, before responding, "My Semblance? It's nothing special. I can alter the weight of my feet, yet I can still freely move them about freely. I could make them as heavy as concrete blocks to augment the force of my kicks, or as light as a feather so I can jump higher and run faster." He responded.

Pyrrha nodded, fascinated. "That's quite a Semblance you've got there." She said. Mercury nodded in response, shoving a piece of steak into his mouth. Silence permeated the table as everyone finished their food. Mercury looked down at his Scroll when his plate was empty, seeing that the lunch period wasn't even half over yet. By now Nora and Yang were involved in some kind of wrestling match, while Blake and Ren were quietly discussing their books.

Jaune and Ruby, meanwhile, were browsing through their Scrolls and giggling at something on the screen, while Weiss sat beside them, angrily talking to someone on her Scroll, leaving Pyrrha and Mercury as the only ones who were free. The silver-haired man looked around, trying to catch sight of Cinder or Emerald, but saw no sign of them.

He eventually turned back to Pyrrha, who was glancing at the laughing Jaune with a look of longing and sorrow in her eyes. Mercury suddenly felt a pang of jealously erupt in his heart. Why was she looking at the blond dunce like that? From what he had seen of Jaune, the blond idiot was hopeless in battle without the help of his team.

Just as Pyrrha let out a sad sigh, Mercury abruptly stood up. "Pyrrha, will you care to accompany me on a walk, maybe show me around the campus?" He asked. Pyrrha's face brightened, happy to get out of the situation. "Of course!" She smiled as she stood up. "Alright Jaune, I'll be taking Mercury here on a little tour the campus. We'll be back soon!" She said as she and Mercury left the cafeteria.

"Alright Pyrrha!" He shouted, before Ruby showed him another image on her Scroll and he once again burst into laughter.

"Alright then, where do you want to go first Mercury?" Pyrrha asked him as soon as they went outside, the scorching sun hitting them right in the face.

"Hmm… how about that tower over there." He said, pointing to Ozpin's office. She nodded in response and walked off, motioning him to follow her.

" _Pyrrha… I have to ask her where that name is from…"_ Mercury thought as he followed her, ignoring the ringing of his Scroll.

Cinder would have to wait.


	3. Savior

Chapter 3: Savior

Emerald Forest, the massive sprawling mass of trees and nature that serves as the Beacon Academy Initiation setting, with potential students facing down hordes of Grimm in order to retrieve a relic from an abandoned temple.

Mercury hated the place. He remembered many times as a child when he and his father had been forced to flee into it to escape guards or angered soldiers when his father's assassinations failed (which more than often they did). He also remembered how hard he had to struggle to fend off the Grimm when they came, drawn by the feelings of negativity and hopelessness practically radiating off father and son.

Pyrrha could see it in his eyes that he held no fondness for the forest. "Mercury, what's the matter?" The red-haired girl asked, keeping pace beside the silver-haired boy and raising her head to look at him. Mercury shrugged in response, keeping an eye on their surroundings in case of any potential Grimm.

The two had already changed into their regular outfits and had retrieved their weapons, better safe than sorry, right?

"I just have some not so fond memories of this place, that's all." Mercury responded, looking down at the ground and pursing his lips. Pyrrha was worried, but decided not to pursue the matter further. The rest of the walk was in relative silence, only broken with the occasional calls of wildlife or the gurgling of brooks and streams.

They finally reached their destination; a small, plant-covered cliff overlooking a lake. "This is where I always go when I need some alone time or to calm down." Pyrrha said, walking near the cliff edge and sitting down, her legs dangling just over the edge. Mercury raised an eyebrow, but followed her example.

The two sat side-by-side, looking down at the massive lake. "Isn't it beautiful Mercury?" Pyrrha asked her new friend. He merely nodded, continuing to gaze down at the crystal-clear water. He felt a strange sense of calm wash over him, all the stress and worry of previous days vanishing. Pyrrha was right; this place was indeed good to visit when one needed some personal time.

"Mercury… Please, you can confide in me. I may only have known you for a short time, but I could help with any problem you may have." Pyrrha said, turning to him with a look of concern on her face. Mercury closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's fine Pyrrha, there's no need to worry for my sake. I'm more than capable of handling it myself." He said, continuing to gaze upon the lake.

Pyrrha reached out, gently touching Mercury's arm with a finger. He flinched, looking down at her in surprise. "What are you doing?!" He growled. "Do not worry… I am just analyzing your aura." She said. "Oh, I see. You must be practiced enough with your aura to do so, no wonder you are the most accomplished student at Beacon." He praised, "lying through his teeth" as the common folk put it.

Pyrrha smiled in response, but continued to focus her aura. Slowly her pleased face began to darken, her smile turning into a frown, before she abruptly pulled away from Mercury. "What's wrong?" Mercury asked, already knowing the answer.

He had always had an extraordinarily strong aura, gained from both his own will to survive and the merciless training of his father. "Your aura… it's beyond anything I've ever seen!" Pyrrha said, her voice trembling with shock. Mercury simply smirked. "Anything that's not a surprise, Miss Nikos?" He responded sarcastically.

Pyrrha eventually calmed down, narrowing her eyes at the other student. "You must have something about you… something suspicious. An aura that high is simply not possible in a Hunter-in-training…" She said. "Why so surprised? You're acting like there's no such thing as exceptions, including yourself, Miss Nikos." Mercury responded, getting up and stretching.

"Well, I've got to be taking my leave now. My teammates will be wondering where I am." He said as he turned to leave, only for Pyrrha to block his path. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me more about your aura." She said. Mercury crossed his arms and cocked his head. "What, you're going to keep me here until I spill the beans? Sorry Pyrrha, but that's not going to happen." He said as he stepped forward, but Pyrrha once again stood in front of him, this time carrying her lance and shield in hand.

"You want to fight me?" Mercury asked, taking a fighting stance. Pyrrha crouched, refusing to move. "Get out of the way Pyrrha, before I make you." Mercury growled, his tone dark. Pyrrha opened her mouth to respond, but the bellowing of a Grimm cut through the forest.

"Dear gods…" Mercury whispered, as the trees split and broke in a path in front of them. "We need to get to lower ground! It's a Goliath!" Mercury bellowed, speeding past Pyrrha, whose eyes widened before she followed him.

"A Goliath?! Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked as she caught up with Mercury, running on pace with him. "Yes! I heard those calls before… it must have been attracted when you tried to stop me." He said, continuing to run as fast as he could. Pyrrha nodded and managed to keep pace with him, even as the ground shook underneath them from every step of the approaching Grimm.

"We've got to get out of here! The reason why you heard so little stories about heroic killings of this type of Grimm is because so few of them survive the attempt!" Mercury shouted, looking backwards to make sure Pyrrha was beside him. She looked up at him, her face filled with fright. Even Beacon's star student had her doubts about this Grimm.

Before they could get any further however, the tree in front of them was knocked down, forcing Mercury to leap over it. Pyrrha wasn't so lucky, the fallen trunk hitting her knees and knocking her over. The red-haired girl cried out in pain and shock as she fell on her back. Mercury grimaced as he heard the audible twist. Pyrrha had twisted her ankle.

Gasping in pain, the Invincible Girl attempted to stand up, even as the angry face of the Goliath poked its way from the trees. Mercury knew Pyrrha wasn't going to survive if he didn't do something; with a twisted ankle, even the Invincible Girl would stand no chance against such a beast.

Normally, he couldn't give less of a crap for other people. Only his employers' lives mattered to him, and if you died while near him, you couldn't blame him for not stepping in. He only cared about survival. If it were anyone else, Mercury would have abandoned them and told the Beacon staff it was an accident.

Pyrrha was different. She made Mercury just feel _right_. He couldn't let such a pretty girl die, now could he? Gritting his teeth, the silver-haired assassin rushed back to where Pyrrha was struggling to rise. She had shifted Milo to its rifle form, desperately firing shots at the enraged Goliath, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off its thick bone armor.

Just as the beast bellowed and raised its trunk to smash the annoying insect, a barrage of Dust bullets slammed into its vulnerable eye, causing it to scream and reel backward in pain. Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise before Mercury rushed in, putting one arm beneath Pyrrha's shoulders and the other beneath her waist.

With a grunt, he held her close to his chest "bridal-style", distracting the pained Goliath with another barrage of bullets before turning around and rushing away. The Goliath was far too pained to pursue them, its red eye blown to ruins by the force of Mercury's shots.

Pyrrha looked backward in shock, before looking back up at her savior, pain still running through her twisted ankle. She noticed how close she was to him, a blush coming to her cheeks as she held onto him tightly. Mercury looked down on her, his face appearing momentarily… concerned, before instantly shifting back into determination.

"Thank you Mercury…" Pyrrha whispered, closing her eyes and tucking her head against his chest.

"Pyrrha…" Mercury whispered in response, looking back at her twisted ankle. Just hearing her in pain was enough to spur him to action, something that normally required the payment of lien.

What was so special about her that made him drop everything and save her?


End file.
